The Words That We've Forgotten
by Mopsydoll
Summary: In his dreams he could fly, but there was always something chasing him. As he fell and the darkness threatened to swallow everything someone reached for him. OriginalUniverse!Levi and ModernAU!Eren. What happens when the one you love is taken by the very thing that they were supposed to be able to overcome? Rated M for chapters yet to come.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: I'm sorry have we met?

He was flying. He often flew in his dreams but this time felt different. A sense of urgency compelled him forward. Something was chasing him. He had no idea what but while the foremost thought in his mind was to run another piece of himself screamed for him to turn around and fight. He felt his arm move of its own accord so that the base of his thumb rested against his lip. He knew this was going to hurt but once again that other part of him reminded him that it would only be for a moment. And besides, he was doing this to protect someone he loved.

Have you ever been in a very well-lit room during a thunderstorm when the powers goes out? Does it ever feel like the darkness made almost a crashing noise as it suddenly enveloped you? Eren screamed as he was suddenly plunged into the heavy wave of blackness. He woke to find himself on the floor of his room. The soft cream carpet cradled his cheek and his legs were hopelessly tangled in the sheets. It took him a few moments to get his breathing under control enough to sit up and flick the light on. Even as the warm glow of his floor lamp lit the 10x10 space he called a room he still found it difficult to control the sudden waves of nausea that threatened to overtake him.

Eren knew he was safe. Still, there was this nagging feeling every time he woke up like this. It felt like something was missing, like something important was gone. And yet, even after 19 years of feeling this gut wrenching feeling of loneliness and loss he had yet to pinpoint the source of his pain. For a long time he thought that it was the loss of his mother that had prompted him to experience this, however upon further thought he realized that that couldn't possibly be right because he distinctly remembered her comforting him from nightmares like this even when she'd been alive.

He straightened his bed and looked at his clock to realize that his alarm was due to go off in only a matter of moments. He chose to get dressed in favor of two extra minutes of uneasy rest. As he slid the closet door back the image of a different door came to mind. This one was white and plain much like his walls and relatively flimsy, but the door of his mind's eye was commanding and absolute, much like the character of the man he knew resided behind it. But wait. How did he know the person behind a door he had never before laid eyes on?

Shaking his head to relieve the tension that was building over his brow he reached in and grabbed his favorite long-sleeved t-shirt and a pair of levis out of the back. The weather called for clear skies and crisp temperatures today so he also snatched his big, hunter green pull-over off of the hook next to his bedroom door. When he was thoroughly satisfied with the state of his messy, sleep tossed hair style he walked out into the kitchen to grab a granola bar and some water before heading off to work.

Eren decided that today was a good day to walk to work. No use in wasting gas when the weather is so decidedly obliging. As he turned to the bathroom, to wash his face and brush his teeth, he turned on the T.V. and spiked the volume so he could hear the local news over the running water.

"And now we move to Janice for more information on the strange and sudden earthquake that shook the downtown area not 20 minutes ago." said the baritone of a locally famous anchorman.

The reply came promptly from a pretty, young reporter in a soft purple sheath dress. "Yes, good morning Michael. Local authorities are still trying to understand what exactly happened here this morning. Witnesses claim to have seen an incredibly bright flash of golden lightning followed by an earth shaking tremor that while not technically classified as an earthquake still caused minor damage to a nearby antique shop. Officials are stating that there is nothing to worry about and thankfully, while it did come as a rude awakening this morning for many, no one was injured. Back to you Michael for news from the capitol."

Eren turned off the T.V. and headed out of the door. In hindsight he realized that that was probably what had woken him up this morning so violently. He chuckled lightly to himself and practically skipped off to work allowing the cool morning air and the light warmth of the sun to lift his spirits. He couldn't have been calmer as he rounded the corner of his building to cut through the alley and shave two blocks off of his journey.

Just as he was passing a big green dumpster he stopped and crouched down reaching into his pocket for the special treat he'd brought with him. He clicked his tongue lightly and called out, "Here Snowball. Come here. I brought tuna today." At that a soft gray head popped out from under the dumpster and was followed by a lithe body. "Oh, good you're here. I was worried I'd have to find you. Here you go pretty girl." He smiled gently as the cat ate his offering and purred warmly. "Good girl, eat up everything. You need to be strong for the kittens." The cat raised its head at that and turned to run back under the dumpster.

Moments later she returned scooting two small bundles in front of her. One was jet black and the other snow white. Eren reached out and petted them both. He'd named them Lucky and Star after a favorite show of his. Star always gnawed on him but he reasoned that she was just hungry so he took some tuna on his finger and held it up for the little white furball to lap at. Eren chuckled and patted each of the cats one last time before continuing on to work.

Just as he was passing a branch alley a strong arm reached out of the shadows and yanked him back hard. Eren had always been good with self defense so he immediately went to brake his attacker's arm. That didn't work out so well since his attacker was considerably shorter than he'd anticipated. He suddenly found his back against the brick wall of a building and a swift blow to his knees had them buckling in moments. He struggled but didn't scream because he hadn't assessed whether or not his opponent was carrying a weapon that could silence him.

"Oi brat, quit moving and let me get a look at you."

Eren froze. He felt like someone had just poured ice in his brain followed by gasoline and a match. He slowly turned and there in front of him was a strange man in some weird-ass cosplay and a deep green cloak. Part of him was screaming for him to fight, but a tinier part was wondering why the smell combination of soap, leather cleaner and stone was so achingly familiar to him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The plot thickens

"Hey you little shit, did you not hear me? Don't tell me you've gone deaf while living in this shithole." The words were strange to Eren. Once again he could feel those two pieces of himself fighting each other, while one screamed leave the other begged Eren to stay with this man no matter what. It hurt him to think about running and he didn't understand why seeing as staying was just as frightening to him.

The strange man seemed to immediately pick up on Eren's swirling emotions and did something that struck Eren as odd. He let go of Eren's shoulders and drew him into a warm hug. Eren was suddenly very much aware of how the man's stature allowed him to fit perfectly to the shape of Eren's taller frame. Eren was also immediately conscious of just how strong his strange attacker was, the answer: very.

"I'm sorry. It's just … I missed you so much. We thought you were dead, even your sister had given up and yet here you are. Safe, warm and perfectly alive." The man's voice was soothing in a way that befuddled Eren beyond comprehension. He was caught off guard by the sudden shift in the man's posture as he felt long, graceful fingers gently tug his chin into a desired position. "Don't ever do that to me again," came the broken request.

At this point Eren had a good view of a pair of strikingly silver eyes. The stark contrast between this man's eye color and the thick black eyelashes that framed them was so achingly familiar that Eren had to turn his head. "Look, I don't know who you are or what you want but I'm telling you, you've got the wrong guy. I swear I've never met you before." Eren replied trying to push away from his captor. He felt the stranger flinch as if he'd been burned by Eren's words. Eren immediately regretted his words but the logical part of his brain wouldn't let him take them back. Nor could he bring himself to admit aloud just how familiar this stranger really was to him.

The man let him go, stepping aside with downcast eyes to allow Eren room to leave the alley. Eren began to move away when a strong hand grabbed his in what was a surprisingly gentle embrace. The stranger was looking away as he spoke and his words sounded agonizingly strained, "I'm sorry. My name is Levi and I guess I'm just confused. I'm not sure where I am and I don't know anyone here. I know this might seem uncomfortable but I need someone to show me around. Please." The words were sincere and although Eren could only see his face from the side the pain in Levi's eyes was enough to break the poor boy's heart.

"Tell you what Levi. I'm going to call in sick today. You can come back to my place and we'll figure out how to get you on your feet. My name is Eren by the way. Eren Jaeger. C'mon, my place is right around the corner." Eren said all of this perfectly straight faced while his brain was reverting back to those lessons of his childhood about trusting strangers, especially crazy people like this guy. He knew that what he was doing was dangerous, especially if this guy turned out to be bad news. However, he found himself worrying a great deal less when the man turned to him and smiled gratefully.

The smile caught Eren off guard. It was stunning how just the tiniest curve of Levi's lips and the sudden softness that bordered on affection in his eyes could make him look so unbelievably beautiful. Eren really couldn't think of a better word for that look. _Oh my god, he's beautiful, _thought Eren. _I wonder why though. _Eren turned and led the man back to his apartment. It wasn't until he had to reach for his key that he realized he was still holding Levi's hand.

As they entered the apartment Eren caught himself visibly flinching upon realizing that he hadn't washed the dinner dishes from the night before and the floor hadn't been vacuumed in a week. Levi obviously saw this and reflexively said, "Calm down shitty brat. I'm not going to hit you."

Eren's head shot up, a mixture of confusion and annoyance gracing his features. "Stop calling me that! I am not shitty and I'm not a brat. You aren't even that much older than me plus you're shorter and I-" Eren was cut off by a blow to his rib cage that also successfully wounded his pride. He had to sit down to catch his breath, when he looked up a very different Levi was looming over him radiating an aura of pure unadulterated rage. Eren flinched back and instinctively protected his face. "I am so sorry! I didn't mean to even say that, honest!"

Levi seemed to calm at that but only by a fraction. He flopped down on the couch next to Eren who reflexively shrank away. "Oi Eren, sorry I hit you. I forgot that you aren't used to that." Eren uncurled slowly and looked at Levi carefully. There was still a small part of him that really wanted to check his news feed to make sure no mental patients had recently escaped but a larger part of his kept going back to just how strangely familiar this Levi was.

Levi sighed and seemed to be consciously trying to not frighten Eren with whatever he was about to say. "Hey listen," he began "I don't know my way around this … area, and to be honest I have no earthly idea how I even got here so could you … maybe … shit I'm not good at this. Can I stay with you for a while until I get my bearings and figure out what even happened here?" Levi looked away and Eren could see that he was visibly forcing himself to stay calm no matter what Eren's reply was.

Seeing that made Eren's decision final. "Of course you can stay. I'm not going to just let you wander around when you don't even know where you are. I only have a twin bed though so I'll use the couch tonight." Eren was confused as to why his reasoning for using the couch was that his bed was too small for two people to fit comfortably. Levi seemed to pick up on it though and a mischievous glint lit up his eyes for a moment, but whatever he was about to say he obviously thought better of it and refrained from commenting.

Eren cleared his throat awkwardly and realized he'd need to know a little more about this Levi character before he fully trusted him to stay under his roof and _not _kill him. So he cleared his throat and started with, "So um Levi, what's your last name?"

"Don't have one." came the quick reply.

Eren could tell that he really shouldn't ask that question again so he continued with, "Okay, well where are you from originally? You don't have an accent so I can't really place you from your voice."

Levi raised a graceful eyebrow at that question and countered with one of his own. "Tell me where I am first."

Eren had never been very patient with people who didn't have the inclination to read a map so his reply was a little on the snarky side. "Taylors, South Carolina. Zip code 29687 in Greenville County. United States of America, North American Continent, Western Hemisphere, Planet Earth, Third from the Sun, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy, Virgo Cluster, Universe A." That earned him a glare that would have seen him in a pool of his own blood if looks could kill.

Levi took a deep breath and tried to calm down before he ripped the brats hair out. His reply was short, "To be perfectly honest I can't even remember where I'm from. Some place inside Wall Rose I believe." The reply confused Eren but he took it graciously and filed it away in his mind until later when he could pull up google maps and look for this Wall Rose.

Eren suddenly realized how rude he was being and immediately jumped up asking if he could get Levi something to eat or drink. Levi looked a bit surprised, and also a little amused, at the sudden change in Eren's mood. "Some black tea would be nice," he said.

Eren had the tea ready in no time and was just about to pick it up and serve it to his "guest" when he sensed a presence behind him. He spun around, tea forgotten, to find his hips pinned to the counter and two sets of long fingers on his waist. He stopped breathing for a moment and stared into dark, silver eyes as they searched his own brilliant green ones for something, anything. "Forgive me. I just can't believe that you've really forgotten me." The words were spoken in close proximity to Eren's mouth so he could feel Levi's warm breath ghosting over his lips in a way that had his legs going numb.

Levi tilted upward slightly and Eren found himself subconsciously moving down. The distance between them was almost non-existent when suddenly …

_Knock, knock, knock._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: All the world's a mirror

Levi couldn't even see straight he was so angry. First he gets dropped, roughly, into a foreign environment. Next, he finds his lost love but the object of his affection no longer remembers him. And last, just as he feels he can see recognition in Eren's eyes, some half-witted shit face feels the need to knock on Eren's door. Needless to say, he can barely keep himself from kicking the poor boys feet out from under him when the sinfully lithe body beneath his hands and hips decides to squirm away to reach the door.

The next thing Levi knows, Eren is at the door and suddenly the damn brat turns around and has the audacity, the unmitigated gall to lay on the puppy eyes and motion to a back room of his home. Levi isn't stupid, he knows full-well what the shitty brat wants and is almost tempted not to comply. Almost. He hasn't seen Eren in a very long time, and the face he makes is literally like a punch in the gut to the older man. So, not without some downright evil glaring, Levi concedes and jumps into the nearest room and shuts the door. Imagine his confusion at a hard white chair with a hole in the middle filled with water. Where the hell had his lover been dropped that _this _would be considered and acceptable piece of furniture to have in one's home?

Levi ignored the confusing décor in favor of listening at the door to whoever Eren was talking to. The voice was unfamiliar but as he peered around the corner the face he was greeted with was anything but. He knew this boy, or at least he had seen him. Granted he couldn't recall seeing him alive but he vividly remembered the look on a certain cadet's face at seeing his friend's corpse, well half of it anyway. Levi realized that if this boy was alive here and dead in the other place then it was quite possible that Eren hadn't just disappeared that day. The notion both disturbed him and made him incredibly sick.

Eren was smiling when he answered the door. He seemed overjoyed to be speaking to this person so Levi decided it would be in everyone's best interest to stay hidden and just listen.

"So what brings you here Marco? Let me guess, you want to have lunch?" Eren was speaking in a way that Levi was unaccustomed to, in fact if Levi had to guess he'd say it was the light hearted laugh and the softness in his tone that was throwing him off.

The other boy, slightly taller than Eren with dark skin and an overabundance of freckles, laughed warmly and replied, "No, no actually um the boss was a little worried about you not showing up today and sent me to check on you. Remember that corporate was coming today?"

Eren visibly stiffened. "Oh shit. I forgot to call in. Something really important came up. Tell Petra I'll definitely make it up to her." Levi felt a wave of dread run through him at the mention of the young lady who had previously been his responsibility.

"No problem but you still need to come in for a little while for your individual evaluation. Can you spare a few minutes?" The boy, Marco, seemed very determined.

"Of course. Is it alright if I bring someone with me? He's a … um … visiting relative and I can't just leave him here alone because he's … unfamiliar with the area."

"I don't see why not. But I'm not kidding you need to book it right now if you're going to get there before corporate."

Eren nodded, "Okay I'll be there in a few minutes. You go ahead back. No reason for both of us to get caught being late."

Marco nodded and left right away. When Eren turned back around he gave Levi a good look over, snapped his fingers and rushed back to his room. He emerged moments later with a fresh set of clothes that had been too small for him for a while thanks to his dryer shrinking everything that he fed it. He held out the clothes to Levi and motioned for him to change. "You're going to have to change because you look kind of weird in all of those belts." Levi glared at the offered clothes but took them anyway because he needed Eren's cooperation.

After he was changed they headed out the door and made their way quickly to where Eren worked. Levi found the thick denim on his legs to be mildly uncomfortable because it didn't allow him a full range of motion however the large gray sweatshirt that Eren had insisted he wear was absolutely wonderful. When they reached the little coffee shop Levi noted how inviting the entire scene was. Even the title of the shop sounded nice, _"Warm Hearth". _

At the entrance Eren turned to Levi and said, "Okay so just sit in the corner booth and don't move. If anyone asks we're related."

Levi sneered, "Who'd want to be related to a little shit like you Jaeger?"

"I swear to God I will never forgive you if you mess this up." Eren rolled his eyes and Levi smiled knowing the threat to be empty.

"Fine. Let's just get in so I'm not freezing my ass off out here." Levi pushed past Eren into the store and immediately wished he'd just stayed back in the apartment.

Inside the store was a young woman with pretty shoulder length strawberry blonde hair and a gentle smile, standing beside her was a man who looked to be about in his mid-thirties but Levi knew better and off to the side was a brunette man serving a customer with a large grin on his face and a laugh that Levi knew achingly well. He felt like someone had punched him in the gut as he recognized each face. Eren was behind him then, gently guiding him towards the table in the back corner. It was dark and secluded so Levi could go unnoticed for a long while.

Eren was greeted warmly by his coworkers, Levi had yet to see that Marco kid again so he assumed he was in the back.

"Hey Eren! That was some lousy shit you just pulled not showing up for work and worrying Petra like that." Said that man beside Petra.

Petra sent a soft glare in his direction then smiled at Eren, "Don't listen to Auruo, Eren. He's just cranky because it was his turn to feed Annabelle last night."

Eren smiled wide and laughed warmly, "How is she? She's going on six months soon right? I should get her a Christmas present this year."

A hardy laugh came from the doorway to the back room and a tall blonde appeared, "Good lord only knows ya spoil the hell out o' that little one Eren. Yer always lookin' for a reason ta give her somethin'."

Eren smiled and ducked his head sheepishly but Auruo had seemed mildly indignant of that statement, "Annabelle is not spoiled she is the most perfect little lady you have ever met and you know it Erd! Now go back to your cave." He made a shooing motion and Erd laughed returning whence he came.

"Eren go get your apron from the back I think the car that just pulled up is the guy from corporate." Called the brunette.

"Sure thing Gunter!" came Eren's cheery reply. The boy was gone and back before the man even walked through the door.

Levi looked up as the new arrival stepped across the threshold and nearly had a full-blown heart attack. Out of the corner of his eye he saw panic and confusion cross Eren's features at the sight of this man as well. Sharp eyes swept the room and Levi turned away to keep from being seen but as soon as they landed on Eren there was no mistaking the sudden flicker of interest. Levi was slowly descending into a spiraling sense of dread especially when the eyes left Eren only to jump instantly to none other than himself.

Time seemed to completely stop and he sat there in horror because for the first time in his life he understood just how terrifying that old concept he'd heard of was. _My reflection blinked._

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I will be tracking the tag: fic: twtwf

I hope you enjoyed and aren't terribly upset at where I left this. :)

I'd like to apologize for taking so long to update. Turns out when I got this new computer my dad forgot to add an anti-virus :o


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